MW: U.S. stock futures little changed as investors await earnings, retail sales
U.S. stock futures showed little change early Wednesday, as investors avoided big bets ahead of a flurry of earnings reports and economic data.
Investors are waiting for quarterly results from companies such as Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Netflix Inc., as well as a reading on retail sales and other economic data.
S&P 500 futures ESZ5, -0.06% recently inched lower by 1.90 points, or 0.1%, to 1,992, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMZ5, -0.04% dipped by 12 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16,961. Nasdaq 100 futures NQZ5, -0.16% edged lower by 10.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,331.
“With the focus in the U.S. swinging back to quarterly earnings season, investors are becoming more cautious,” said Ian Williams, an economist and strategist at Peel Hunt, in a note early Wednesday. The wariness comes despite low expectations for third-quarter results for S&P 500 components, with performance “depressed by the energy sector XLE, -1.04% ” Williams added.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed with modest losses, as the Dow industrials DJIA, -0.29% snapped a seven-session winning streak, while the S&P SPX, -0.68% halted a four-day advance. The Dow is down 4.2% for the year as of Tuesday’s close, while the S&P is off 2.7%.
Movers & shakers: SanDisk Corp. SNDK, -1.72% is poised for a big up day after news late Tuesday saying the maker of flash-memory chips is thinking about selling itself.
Shares in Bank of America Corp. BAC, +0.00% are likely to see active trading as the company is due to post quarterly results before the opening bell.
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, -0.61% and BlackRock Inc. BLK, -0.17% are also set to release earnings before the open, while Netflix Inc. and SLM Corp. are among the companies slated to report after the market’s close.
Shares in Intel Corp. INTC, -0.53% slipped in thin premarket trading after the chip giant’s quarterly profit beat forecasts late Tuesday, but the company signaled slower growth in its data-center business.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM, -0.28% shares also could come under pressure after the bank’s quarterly revenue missed expectations late Tuesday, while CSX Corp. CSX, -2.33% may gain after rising late Tuesday as profit topped estimates.
Key economic reports: Investors will take in a raft of U.S. economic data on Wednesday, starting with reports on retail sales and producer prices for September, both due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
A figure for business inventories in August is expected at 10 a.m. Eastern, followed by the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book at 2 p.m. Eastern.
There are no Federal Reserve speakers scheduled for today.
